The present installation relates to an installation for filling containers, such an installation serving, for example, in a bottling line.
A filling installation generally includes a filling platform of the carrousel type which is mounted to rotate about an axis on a fixed frame, and it continuously fills containers conveyed along the bottling line. To this end, it includes a tank to which filling nozzles are connected.
In sterile filling installations, i.e. installations in which filling is performed without any germs entering the containers during the various steps of packaging the substance, a lid is fixed to the tank in sealed manner. The lid is provided with a valve which is controlled to put the tank in communication with the ambient atmosphere, as maintained in a sterile state, during the container-filling stage, and with a circuit for dispensing a cleaning substance during a periodic cleaning stage.
The filling liquid is fed to the tank via a pipe having one end fixed to the lid via a rotary gasket so as to open out into the tank. The tank is thus filled continuously even while it is rotating during filling of the containers. The need for a rotary gasket complicates the structure of the installation. In addition, the rotary gasket is subject to wear, and the duct connecting the valve to the circuit for dispensing the cleaning substance must also be connected to the rotary gasket, and so the rotary gasket is of complex structure.
An object of the invention is to provide a filling installation that has a structure making it possible to omit the rotary gasket.
To this end, the invention provides a filling installation comprising a fixed frame, a tank mounted on the fixed frame so as to rotate about an axis, and a lid associated with the tank and provided with a feed pipe, positioning means being fixed to the lid, and being mounted on the fixed frame to slide parallel to the axis of rotation between a position in which the lid is applied against an edge of the tank so as to close off said tank and a position in which the lid is spaced apart from the edge of the tank.
Thus, during the filling stage, the positioning means are actuated so as to maintain the lid spaced apart from the edge of the tank. In this position, the lid is prevented from rotating relative to the frame. The feed pipe can thus be fixed rigidly to the lid without it being necessary to use a rotary gasket. In addition, when the lid is in this position, the tank is naturally in communication with the ambient atmosphere. For the cleaning stage, the positioning means are actuated so that the lid closes off the tank. The tank can then be cleaned by injecting the cleaning substance under a high pressure, thereby facilitating proper cleaning of the tank.
In a particular embodiment, the positioning means include at least one arm having a first end fixed to the lid and a second end mounted to slide on a column secured to the frame. Preferably, the edge of the tank is provided with an annular rim projecting-outwards from the tank, and the lid comprises a plate from which a cylindrical wall extends that surrounds the annular rim, and that has an annular internal shoulder extending facing the rim, the positioning means including an abutment for limiting the downward movement of the lid, and at least one actuator having a body secured to the lid and a moving rod angularly positioned so that, when it is in the deployed position, it comes into abutment against an abutment piece secured to or integral with the tank. Thus, the lid is spaced apart from the edge of the tank merely by the weight of the lid, and it is necessary to feed the actuators only to seal the tank during washing.
In addition, in order to produce batches comprising containers filled with different substances, e.g. with a plurality of flavors of flavored dairy produce, it is necessary with known types of installation to fill series of containers separately with respective ones of the substances, and then to store said series until all of the series of containers have been filled, and finally to package the batches of containers by combining the various series. Such manufacture assumes that large storage volumes are available, and it suffers from poor productivity.
According to a particular characteristic of the invention, at least one cylindrical wall extends coaxially inside the tank so as to partition said tank into compartments, and at least one second feed pipe equips the lid, the feed pipes passing through the lid so as to open out in the tank, each pipe opening out facing a respective one of the compartments.
Thus, different filling substances can be fed respectively to the compartments via feed pipes that still face the same respective ones of the compartments while the tank is rotating. Each filling nozzle can then be connected selectively to the compartment that contains the filling substance that the container to be filled is to contain, so that batches with different substances can be produced by taking successive containers.
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description of a particular non-limiting embodiment of the invention.